Golf is supposed to be difficult. But it’s seemingly not for these kids.
Three days after 20-year-old Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap won the PGA Tour’s American Express, 19-year-old Aldrich Potgieter became the youngest winner on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Potgieter won the 2024 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club at 10 under, two shots better than Quade Cummins and Kyle Westmoreland.
At 19 years, four months and 11 days, Potgieter slides Jason Day into the No. 2 spot on the list. Day was 19 years, seven months and 26 days old when he won the 2007 Legend Financial Group Classic.
Potgieter, the 2022 Amateur champ, is the fourth golfer still in his teens to win on the Korn Ferry Tour. Sungjae Im, Akshay Bhatia and Day are the others.
“I was just trying to make the cut… improve on the status. I didn’t expect this today,” Potgieter said. “I was looking at the leaderboard a couple times and just trying to move up, move up slowly and give myself some chances on the putting green. I felt really comfortable, gave myself those opportunities and holed some of them.”
Aldrich Potgieter hits a tee shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2024 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in the Bahamas. (Photo: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Potgieter, who turned professional last summer, started the final round five shots back of Westmoreland but birdied three of his first four holes to get started. A bogey on seven was followed by an eagle on eight. He then birdied four of his last six holes to shoot a 65.
“We saw Nick Dunlap won last week, and that was a reminder that it can be done,” he said.
This was the second event on the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2024 schedule. Each of the first two tournaments had a Sunday-to-Wednesday format. The circuit continues next week in Panama before heading to Colombia, Argentina and Chile.
The first U.S. event is April 4-7 in Savannah, Georgia.
